"The village is already on lockdown."
At the Naka River, Kaito took out a bento, bread, and milk from his backpack, placing them in front of Shisui. "If..."
"You're leaving... you should get out of Konoha now."
Shisui fumbled blindly in front of him, still struggling to adjust to his loss of vision. It wasn't until Kaito pushed the food toward his hands that he could eat.
"The clan will likely make their move soon."
As Shisui spoke, he paused for a few seconds, often forgetting that the person beside him wasn't Uchiha Itachi but his six-year-old brother.
He unscrewed the milk cap, took a sip, and said slowly to Kaito,
"I told you... you don't need to come here anymore."
"It's too dangerous."It wasn't hard to imagine that Danzo would definitely send people to search for him, and the Uchiha clan, having completely lost their trump card, would choose to fight with their backs against the wall.
Even if Kaito had that special technique, given enough time, someone would eventually notice.
By then...
His situation would be truly dangerous.
"Do you think I want to deal with you?"
Kaito glanced at the blind man and slightly moved his foot. If he hadn't noticed Shisui's ears twitch twice, he would have really gone up and kicked the guy twice.
Part of the reason he hadn't slept last night was because Sasuke was noisy, but mostly he was thinking about whether there was any way to get Shisui to stop Itachi.
The result...
Kaito became even more convinced that the only path left was to destroy the Shinobi World.
Shisui chuckled, choosing not to argue with Kaito. Instead, he pulled out a scroll from his pocket and tossed it roughly in Kaito's direction. "Take it."
"It contains my training insights."
"Consider this my last act of looking out for you as a junior."
Snap—
Kaito caught the scroll, his expression showing a hint of surprise.
After all, Shisui's attitude toward him last night had been downright hostile, especially after hearing him talk about destroying the Shinobi World. The guy hadn't held back at all.
In Shisui's mind, Kaito had probably already become a budding menace, someone who would one day threaten the Shinobi World.
So why give him the scroll now?
Raise a future demon?
"Of course, it'd be even better if you could drop the idea of destroying the Shinobi World."
Despite being blind, Shisui seemed to read Kaito's expression perfectly, teasing him with a tone that carried a hint of seriousness.
Kaito rolled his eyes and tucked the scroll close to his body. "I'll take this."
"But what you're asking... I refuse."
"I'm leaving."
After packing his things and slinging his backpack over his shoulders, Kaito visualized the dogs he had stationed around the area.
Just as he was about to teleport away, Shisui suddenly called out to him.
"Wait..."
"Could you use that ability to heal me one more time?"
"I think I accidentally pulled my wound today."
Shisui scratched his head awkwardly, pointing at his eye sockets with an embarrassed expression.
He even added, as if to reassure Kaito, "I'll leave tonight."
"Fine."
"Be careful tonight."
Kaito didn't refuse. Summoning a sunflower, he tossed two healing orbs at Shisui before teleporting away without another thought.
If he didn't leave now...
The nearby dogs would soon disperse, and who knew when he'd get another chance to teleport out.
Half an hour after Kaito left, Shisui, still hiding in the cave, softly called Kaito's name a few times. When no one answered, he slowly opened his eyes.
And in those eyes—clearly visible—were a pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
"Kaito, consider this my final act..."
"As your senior, looking out for you one last time."
He picked up the ninja sword from the ground and strapped it to his back. Then, from a sealing scroll, he produced an oni mask. After disguising himself and erasing all traces of his presence in the cave, he left.
A few minutes later...
Disguised as an oni, Shisui attacked a Root branch base. After killing half the people there, he relied on his familiarity with the village and his exceptional Body Flicker Technique to escape Konoha before anyone could react.
However...
During his escape, Shisui didn't outright kill the Root ninjas pursuing him. Instead, he merely injured them.
"Go back and tell Danzo."
"If he wants my eyes...""Three days later, at the border of the Land of Fire. I'll be waiting for him."
Shisui removed his demon mask, revealing his face to the four severely injured Root ninja before him.
To make his act more convincing, Shisui had already bandaged his right eye and cast a Genjutsu on these Root operatives, making them believe his left eye still possessed the Mangekyō.
He had meticulously crafted the appearance of being injured and defecting from Konoha.
Shisui was certain.
That bastard Danzo would definitely take the bait...
Whoosh—
With those words, Shisui vanished from the spot in a flicker.
"Let's go. Report back to Lord Danzo..."
"Remember, keep this quiet. Lord Danzo doesn't want this matter... to be known by others!"
"Yes!"
After a brief exchange, the four Root ninja swiftly retreated toward their base...
Meanwhile.
In the middle of class, Sasuke couldn't help but glance repeatedly at Kaito's seat.
"Strange..."
"Didn't that guy go out today...?"
"Why is he still using a shadow clone to attend class?"
Others might not notice, but Sasuke could clearly tell—the Kaito sitting attentively in the back...
Was absolutely a shadow clone.
Lately, Sasuke had been feeling that this guy was acting suspiciously. Skipping classes was one thing, but he was never around after returning home either.
It couldn't help but make him a little worried.
Damn it!!
Kaito… that guy...
Could he be secretly training behind my back?!
When lunch break arrived after class, Sasuke immediately marched up to Kaito's shadow clone and demanded, "Tell me."
"Where's your real body?"
The shadow clone shrugged, utterly indifferent.
"No comment."
"If you want to know... ask the real me tonight."
Sasuke gritted his teeth at the clone's infuriatingly smug tone, raising a hand to dispel it on the spot.
Damn it!
Why was even his shadow clone this annoying!
"Stop! Uchiha Sasuke!"
"What do you think you're doing?!"
At that moment, the ever-righteous Uzumaki Naruto leaped forward, blocking Sasuke's path to prevent this arrogant brat from assaulting his elder brother.
"Even if Kaito-nii is your brother, you can't just—"
"None of your business."
Sasuke coldly spat out the words, finding this blond nuisance utterly insufferable. Even if Kaito himself were here, it still wouldn't be this idiot's place to interfere.
"Tch, what did you say?!"
"Kaito-nii helped me! I won't just stand by while you attack him! Even if you're brothers, that's no excuse!"
Sasuke: "..."
Naruto was furious. This guy named Sasuke was seriously, seriously the worst.
How could someone as kind as Kaito-nii...
Have such a terrible little brother?!
At that moment, faced with the blond's outburst, Sasuke suddenly understood the exasperation Kaito often felt.
This idiot...
Was seriously messed up in the head.
"Get lost."
Sasuke icily dismissed him, flicking a Shuriken with his other hand—straight into Kaito's shadow clone.
Poof—
The clone dispersed into smoke, leaving the two boys not only unreconciled but with tensions running even higher.
"Uchiha Sasuke! I challenge you!"
"If you lose... you have to apologize to your brother!"
Sasuke: "???"
Naruto shouted loudly, particularly emphasizing the word "brother." Sasuke had initially planned to ignore him, but hearing that, his temper flared instantly.
After all...In class, he had told others that Uchiha Kaito was his younger brother.
Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets, a glint of murderous intent already flashing in his eyes. "Fine by me, blondie!"
After exchanging a glance, the two headed toward the schoolyard.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Kaito, who was standing in front of Tenten's Weapon Shop, suddenly sneezed as the memories from his shadow clone flooded his mind.
Recalling the scene of Naruto arguing with his "brother" in the classroom, Kaito's expression turned peculiar.
"This... could this be the fox repaying kindness...?"
Tenten: ??